Thanks to a generous grant from the John Templeton Foundation, JMC has launched the Commercial Republic Initiative.
The Commercial Republic Initiative is a three-year national project aimed at broadening undergraduate education to include a vital understanding of the origins of our national heritage.
It supports interdisciplinary projects at six leading institutions: Yale University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Illinois Institute of Technology, Northwestern University, and University of California-Los Angeles.
These are so far six outstanding examples of collaboration between university departments. Faculty across disciplines work together toward the same end; they share ideas and resources; they trade best practices. And students gain key insights into the origins of the American Commercial Republic.
Undergraduates study the connection between science and political thought at the time of the Founding. They explore political institutions, science, and technology with a view to their moral and intellectual significance for innovation and wealth creation. The initiative benefits disciplines and students, alike. While students gain the knowledge they’ve been missing, faculty are introduced to colleagues who share their aims.
The Commercial Republic Initiative has already opened lines of communication between departments that have until now largely been isolated from one another. And students, especially those in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) programs, have access to the studies that make them well-rounded learners and provide them the basis for informed civic engagement in our national life.